In conjunction with Mothership Consignment & Thrift Store, Clay County Comfort Corner hosted its first pop up event at CCCHS. Racks and tables of clothes were provided for students, free of charge, with the tagline “Take what you need, or what makes you smile.”
The event included clothing items, along with shoes, leggings, gloves, and other basic items, where students could grab whatever they needed and/or wanted. The event took place during the school’s Tiger Time, where kids have flexible options of how to use their time.
Another Closet Drop is planned at Wakefield High School on January 30th. Mothership owner, Rachael Greenlee, said due to the success, they will likely plan more events.
“We went into this thinking, ‘If we help one person, it’s worth it,’” she said. “But it was so much bigger than that. We didn’t even know what to expect or if anyone would come. But it was so amazing; as soon as noon hit, kids just swarmed; they were claiming things before we were set up.”
Out of three racks of clothes and two tables, Greenlee said she was left with only about 20 items, including clothes and shoes.
“It was picked over so fast in the best way,” she said. “It was everything we thought it would be and more.”
Greenlee said one student was able to grab athletic pants for practice that evening, which they had forgot at home and didn’t have time to go and get.
“We’ve all been there and forgotten something; I think we helped open their eyes to what the Comfort Corner actually is and it’s somewhere to go when they need something.”
One negative is the students told her they were overstimulated, which she plans to remedy by providing more space for them to look next time.
“It recharged my batteries; there was no stigma around it, all walks of life, all grades,” she said. “I just stood there talking to students and tried to hold back my tears.”
In addition, Greenlee said many students were “shopping” for family members and grabbing holiday gifts.
“It’s for everybody and we want to make this part of their norm.”
